ON THE WEALTH OF NATIONS

Anyone who can make Adam Smith funny has a rare and precious gift. Smith's 1776 economic opus, ON THE WEALTH OF NATIONS, is a book that changed the world and is "also recognized as being really long." The satirist P.J. O'Rourke has slogged through all 900 pages "so you don't have to" and shares the important points with his listeners. O'Rourke discusses the book's ideas and Smith's biographical details intelligently and articulately, concluding almost every paragraph with a wry and insightful one-liner. Michael Prichard has a good feel for O'Rourke's dry sense of humor. His narration is suitably unadorned, though he mixes in just enough accents and voicings to make sure the listener doesn't take it all too seriously. D.B. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 07]